You Can't Rollerskate In a Buffalo Herd
by Starquilter57
Summary: A strange little songfic based on a 1960's Roger Miller hit. Little Spock progressing to adult Spock. Mention of Amanda Grayson.


I own nothing!

You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd

Her husband Sarek was away on yet another tedious, off-planet diplomatic mission. Thus, Amanda had decided to take her five-year-old son Spock to visit her parents on Terra.

Though it was a warm summer evening in Minnesota, little Spock was bundled up in flannel pajamas and a sweater. He and his cousins were seated on a blanket in the backyard, while his grandfather played his guitar and sing silly songs.

This song was totally illogical. It made no sense to Spock at all. He shook his head in wonder, listening to his grandfather Grayson sing it, a song from the 20th century. His cousins giggled in appreciation, and those who knew it sang along. They demanded that Grandpa sing it again.

_You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd,_

_No, you can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd,_

_You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd,_

_But you can be happy if you've a mind to._

_You can't take a shower in a parakeet cage..._

At this point, Grandmother Grayson and Spock's mother Amanda came onto the back porch.

"Alright, my loves" said Grandmother. "It is time for bed . No arguments." Spock readily obeyed, his cousins grudgingly so, giving their grandfather goodnight kisses as they left.

As Amanda tucked him in, a confused Spock asked "Mother, I do not understand Grandfather's song. Why would one attempt to rollerskate in a buffalo herd?"

Amanda laughed. "The song serves two purposes, my son. The first is to amuse. The second is a statement that it is not possible for a person to do everything, but that one can control one's own happiness."

Spock accepted her words, but he truly did not understand. Tired from a long day with his boisterous cousins, he fell asleep instantly. Over the course of the next few days, the perplexed child would have more questions about human culture and behavior. "If Wiley E. Coyote has the means to purchase devices intended to catch the Roadrunner, why does he not simply buy himself some food?... Why would someone throw excrement into a fan?..."

***********

Spock's world had more than shattered. It had literally been ripped away from him, along with the mother he had loved, and who had loved him. He had been both humiliated and humbled by his own actions and those of Kirk in the aftermath of Vulcan's destruction. If not for the support of Nyota, and his father's confession of love for his mother, Spock might not have been able to go on. Somehow, he had managed to rise to the occasion enough to help save Terra and the remaining Vulcans. The altered time line meant that there were now two versions of himself in this reality. The other was much older, and more at peace with himself. Young Spock felt that he would never have that sense of tranquility, and that he really belonged nowhere, and to no one. There was now only a sense of duty, but to whom did he owe it? It was time to make some life altering decisions.

There was no shortage of advice. Admiral Pike reminded him that his Starfleet career would not be over. Kirk had pressed no charges against him, and he had pressed none against Kirk. He was regarded as a hero. As an instructor, Spock had trained many of the Starfleet personnel who had helped save the remaining Vulcans, and who were helping to care for their needs now. In this regard, he had already done his people a great many services.

The Vulcan Council of Elders reminded Spock of his duty to his people, to help rebuild his race. Strange, because "his" race had never completely accepted him, the child of a Vulcan father and a Terran mother. He had been rejected by the bondmate chosen for him, and doubted whether another Vulcan female would find him to be an acceptable mate. And truth be told, in his heart, he desired only Nyota.

His father, while hoping that he would chose the new Vulcan colony over Starfleet, told him that he and he alone must make the choice of what path to follow.

His older self encouraged him to "set aside logic and do what feels right". That flew in the face of all that he had been raised to believe. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.

Spock considered all the advice he had heard, as he stood in his quarters packing. He had not decided yet. Today the transport was leaving for the Vulcan colony. The Enterprise was also leaving its space dock today, to begin its mission. He had written his resignation from his Starfleet commission, but not yet sent it. It was early morning, just after dawn. There remained only a few items to pack, those in his hall closet. He opened the door, and spotted his in-line skates, a gift from his mother on his 21st birthday. He had not skated in several months, and if he chose the Vulcan colony, he would probably never do so again. He decided he would skate this morning. Perhaps the fresh air would help to clear his head.

**********

One of the things Spock enjoyed about skating was the solitude. It was an activity that could be performed solo. Also, because the helmet he wore covered his ears, he did not attract much attention and could skate along a path or sidewalk unnoticed, almost as if he were invisible. As events of Vulcan's destruction and Terra's salvation had been given much media coverage, invisibility was highly desirable. Today he skated along a path in Golden Gate Park. After several kilometers, he felt a bit tired and sat on a bench. As he looked up, he saw the buffalo enclosure. The buffalo herd had lived in Golden Gate Park since the mid-twentieth century.

Spock was reminded of how the Terran buffalo was once hunted to the point of near extinction, but that a remnant remained, much like the remnant of Vulcans. He hoped that his people could survive and slowly increase in numbers, just as the buffalo had. Something tugged at his memory. As he sat on the bench, he happened to look down at his feet, and saw his skates. In that moment he realized that he had spent his early years trying to rollerskate in a buffalo herd. He had rejected the Vulcan Science Academy because he knew that no matter how much he achieved, he would always be considered second best, and that his dual heritage would always be regarded as a "disadvantage". No matter what service he performed for his people, that would always be true. There was no logic in trying to rollerskate in a buffalo herd a second time! Suddenly he realized what he would choose. He would stay in Starfleet, on the Enterprise (if Kirk would have him), and with Nyota. Grandfather Grayson's song now made perfect sense. He could be happy if he had a mind to!

And if he hurried, he could make the last shuttle to the Enterprise.

**************************

A/N_You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd _is a 1966 song by Roger Miller. You can hear it on You Tube. There is an actual Buffalo Enclosure in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. It makes me smile to think of Spock skating there!


End file.
